Elevator for loading and unloading vessels



3 Sheets-Sleet 1.

Patented Oom 10, 1882.

A. D'. FOX.

(No'Model.)

ELEVATOR FOR LOADING AND UNLOADING VESSELS, 650.

5,565. ggf/@AI 3 Sheets-Shen#J 2.

(No Model.)

i A. D. FOX.

ELEVATOR POR LOADING AND UNLOADING VESSELS, &c. No,265,'592. Paf/sentedOct. l0, 1882..

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(/n/,/W 0 V'edix (No Model.) 3 Sheets-,Sheet 3.

A. D. FOX.

ELEVATOR POR LOADING AND UNLOADING VESSELS, &c.

No. 265,592,A

Patented Oct. 1(1), r1882,l

NA PETERS. Pnnmmmgnphar. wnshingmn. o. c,

lINTTen STaTes PATENT Darte.

ALFRED D. FOX, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELEVATOR FOR LOADlNG AND UNLOADING VESSELS, &c.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 265,592, dated October10, 1882.

Application tiled February 16, 1882.

.To all whom it may concern:

Bc it known that I, ALFRED D. FOX. of New York, in the county and Stateot' New York, have invented new and useful Improvementsin Elevators forLoading and Unloading Vessels and other Structures, of which thefollowing is a specilcation.

Figure lis aplan or topviewof my improved elevator', showing it placediu a boat for use in loading ships from sa-id boat. Fig'. 2 is a sideelevation, partly in section, of the same. Fig. 3 is a verticalcross-section ofA the same. Fig. 11 is a detail side view, showing thearrangement ot' longitudinally movable carriages, from which theelevator is suspended. Fig. 5 is a detail face view of the arrangementfor counterbalancing the elevator-leg.

The object of this invention is to produce. a simple and in everydirection adjustable apparatus for lifting things by buckets that are onan endless belt or chain, be that apparatus used as an elevator' forlifting coal, grain, or the like, or as au excavator for lifting earthor mud, or for any other purpose whatever.

The invention relates to the means of adjusting, balancing, and giving`direction to the elevator-leg and the appurtenances thereof', and has nolimitation as to the uses to which the same can be put.

In the drawings I have shown the invention applied to a boat that couldbe used, for instance, when loaded with coal or grain, to be mooredalongside of a ship, the elevator then serving to lift the contents ot'the boat into the ship; butin lieu of fastening the apparatus to a boatit may be secured in a building that is firmly placed on the ground; or,instead of making the elevator-leg project upwardly from the hold of aboat, it may be arranged to project downwardly to serve the purpose ofan excavator.

' My invention consists iu the severalarrangements ot parts that arehereinafter more particularly described, for moving the leg of anelevator up and down, and horizontally backward and forward, andcrosswise, and oscillating it and giving it any inclination that may bedesired; also, in means for poising it, so that it will readily hold itsbalance; also, in

in the particular arrangement of the buckets and of the bucket-chains ofthe carriage on which the elevator-leg is suspended, and in (No model.)

other details that are hereinafter more fully described.

A in the drawings represents a boat, carrying an upwardly-projectingfrau1e,B, which carries horizontal parallel rails C G, on which rest, asis more clearly shown in Fig. 4, longitudinally-niovable carriages D D,with friction-rollers thereon, that bear upon said rails. The carriagesD D on each side of the frame are joined together by a brace or framing,E, to constitute one rigid structure on each side, and the two sets ofcarriages on opposite sides of the boat'are united by cross-bars F G, sothat by taking hold ot' one ot' said cross-bars and pushing or pullingthereon both sets ot' carriages will simultaneously be moved eitherforward or backward, as may be desired.

One ofthe bars, G, thatjoins the two sets of carriages constitutes themeans of supporting the elevator-leg H. This elevator-leg H consists, asfar as its body'is concerned, of two face or cheek pieces, a a, betweenwhich are hung the shafts ot' the upper and lower rollers, b b, aroundwhich are passed the endless chains d d that carry the buckets c c. Theshafts!) I) have suitable notched or toothed disks for guiding andreceiving the chains d, so that by imparting rotary motion to any cileof these shafts the endless chains that carry the buckets will berevolved.

The two chains l d arcjoined by a net-work, j", ot' wire, or equivalentfabric, so that the contents ofthe fabric, especially when the bucketsreach the uppcrcurved portion of the elevator-deg, will not be droppedinto the inner part of the leg, but will be retained on that net untilthe bucket is in position to be emptied into the r'eceiving'chute I.

The buckets themselves are at their outer edges (I mean the edges thatare lowest when the buckets dip into the hold of the boat A) made withprojecting teeth g, that are clearly indicated in Fig. 3. By these teeththe matter to be lifted is more or less loosened by the progressingbucket, and the bucket is not liable to scrape the lower portion ofthematter to be raised tight on the bottom of the boat, but will loosen it,and enable thereby the next bucket to take it up.

rlhe elevator-leg H is slotted vertically or otherwise, as shown at h inFig. 2, at the piace where the shaft or rod G passes through it, so

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that by virtue ot this slot the whole leg can either be lifted orlowered at will. There being such a slot on each side, the elevator-legcan also be oscillated transversely and inclined in the lateraldirection into any desired position. This enables the attendants tobring the lower part ofthe elevator-leg into contact laterally with anypart of the boat or ground from which the substance is to be lifted.

Downwardly-projectin g teeth fi are attached to the lower end ot' theelevator-leg, on each side ot its cheeks, which teeth are clearly shownin Fig. 2, and which serve, when the elevator-leg is lowered,`to enterinto the matter or material to be lifted, and prevent the coal or othermaterial from injuring the buckets, whereas if there were no such teethfz the elevator-leg would not be lowered as far into the coal or othersubstance as it can when the teeth are provided.

In order to move the endless belt, a crank or set ot' cranks can beattached to either one of the shafts b, over which the chains d arepassed, and rotary motion may be imparted to such shaft by lnanuallabor; but I prefer to attach a small-power engine, J, which isindicated in Fig. 2, to the elevator-leg, between its cheeks a, andconnect the piston-rod of said engine with the lower shaft of theendless belt or apron, so as to cause said engine to revolve said shaft,and thereby the chains and move the buckets. The engine, being rigidlyattached to the elevator-leg, will always be in the proper relativeposition to the shaft to be driven, and may be connected to itsboiler byelastic pipe, if desired. I prefer to have two such engines orsteam-cylinders J, one on each cheek a, and so set that when the pistonot' one has finished its stroke that of the other will benearthe middleof its stroke, thus avoiding any stoppage ofthe buckets by reason of adead-center.

As a precaution against accident or stoppage ofthe apparatus incase oneofthe chains d should break, I attach the buckets e also to anothersetot' chains, l, which also pass around the rollers or shafts b, butwhich in the ordinary operation otl the apparatus are not used, butfollow idly along the motion of the other chains; but it' one ot' thechains d should break, or if they both should break, the chain l willtake up the load and retain the buckets in the proper operative positionand continue to hold the whole apparatus in operation, if desired.

To the outer and inner faces ofthe elevatorleg, where otherwise thebuckets would be exposed to view, I fasten by means of hooks and eyesmi, or by any other analogous means, covers -or caps L and M, which arehollowed on their inner sides to allow the buckets to pass, and whichprotect the buckets against rain and snow, and also prevent the contentsof the buckets from being lost by falling over the ends thereof. Theinner cover, M, also serves the purpose ot' preventing the chains fromsa gp ging and the buckets with them, especially in case theelevator-leg is placed into a more or less horizontal position. Thesecaps also protect the engines that are placed between the cheeks of theelevator-leg from dirt, Sac.

The chute I, into which the elevator discharges the lifted load, shouldbe connected in suitable manner to the upper part ot' the elevator-leg,and reaches over the framing B to the place into which the load is tobedeposited. lt' this load is to be discharged into the hold of avessel, the chute should lead into telescopic tubes N, (indicated inFig. 3,) so that the grain 'or coal can be by these telescopic tubes ledinto any part of the vessel, or between any suitable decks, withoutrequiring adjustment or attention further than to properly adjust thelength ot' the telescopic tubing and direct it into the necessary hatch.

In order to move the elevator-leg lengthwisethat is, parallel to thedirection o't' the rails C-I connect the two ends of a chain or rope, O,with the framing E, and pass said rope around friction-rollers n, sothat by revolving' any one of these friction-rollers the entire framingD E F G, and with it the elevaorleg, will be moved toward the desiredend ot the frame B.

For moving the elevator-leg laterallythat is to say, on the supportingshat't or rod (Jiits two sides are connected with ropes or chains P,that pass over friction-rollers o and thence over winding-shafts j), sothat by turning one of these shafts by a crank-handle the necessarylateral motion ot' the elevator-leg will be obtained.

For oscillating the elevator-leg longitudinally its lower part isconnected to the ends of a rope, It, that passes over drums 1', whichhang in laterally-movable frames S. 3y revolving one of these drums 1'the fastened ends of the rope or chains R will be moved so as to swingthe lower part of the elevator-leg in either direction desired,

For maintaining the elevator-leg properly balanced in either direction Ifasten to it ropes or chains T, which pass over friction-rollers sthathang in a laterally-slidingframe, U, which is supported on the rodF, the ropes or chains T carrying weights V at their lower ends, asclearly shown in Fig. 2; but, in addition to thesecounterbalancing-weights V, springs V2 can be applied to theelevator-leg above and below the shaft or rod Gr, as shown in Fig. 2.

It will be readily perceived from the foregoing description that theelevator-leg, if moved laterally on the rod G, would distort itsconnections, above described, with the laterallyadjustable frames S andU. Hence it is necessary to have these frames S and Ujoin in any lateralmotion of the elevator-leg. In Fig. l

is clearlyshown how this is done-namely, b v passing ropes W, thatextend from the ends of these laterally-sliding frames S and U, aroundthe same drums or shafts p over which the ropes or chains P that controlthe lateral motion ofthe elevator-leg are passed, as already stated.Then, by turning either drum 11, the

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elevator-leg will be moved laterally, as stated; but to the same ratiosaid sliding frames or carriers S and U will also be moved laterally.

I claiml. In an elevator-leg, the combination of the elevator-chains dd, having buckets c e, with the reticulated filling fbetween saidchains, substantially as described.

2. In an elevator having,` an endless belt or carrier with bucketsthereon, the buckets made with projecting` teeth g, substantially asherein shown and described.

3. The elevator-leg made with upright slots 7L, through which passes thesuspending-bar G of the supporting-frame, substantially as and for thepurpose specified.

4. The vertically-adjustable elevator-leg made withdownwardly-projecting teeth t', substantially as herein shown anddescribed.

5. In an elevator, the combination of the elevater-leg;` with one ormore engines, J, rigidly attached thereto, substantially as specified.

G. In an elevator, the combination ot' the ele` vator-leg with thechains d, carrying the buckets, and with additional chains, l, that passaround the shafts of the elevator-leg and are united to the buckets,substantially as and for the purpose described.

7. The combination of the elevator-leg' with the removable caps orcovers L M, substantially as specified.

8. The combination of the elevator-leg.,y with thelongitudinally-movable carriage D E F G,

and With the rope or chain O passing over the rollers a, substantiallyas and for the purpose described.

9. The combination of the elevator-leg with the shaft or supporting-barG, and With'the chains or ropes P, friction-rollers o, and Wind-Aing-shafts p, substantially as described.

10. The combination ot' thc elevator-leg with the rope or chain R,lia-ving,` its ends fastened thereto, and with the drums i', aroundwhich said rope or chain passes, substantially as described.

ll. The combinatiou'of the elevator-leg1 with the ropes or chains R,having their ends fastenedto it, and with the drumsraud laterallyslidingframes S, substantially as specified.

12. The adjustable elevator-leg, combined with the balancing Weight orWeights V and laterally-movable framing),` U, substantially asdescribed. y

13. The elevator-leg, combined with the balancingsprings V2, above andbelow its supporting-shaft G, substantially as specified.

let. The combination ot' the movable elevator-leg with thelaterally-movable frames S and U, and with the ropes P W andwindingdrums j, all for operation substantially as specified.

ALFRED D. FOX.

Vituesses:

WILLY G. E. SCHULTZ, J AMES TURK.

